Wireless Catalog

The people at the Wireless Catalog are marketing geniuses -- if I do say so myself. And I do. They are selling HOW TO SURVIVE A ROBOT UPRISING alongside a toy robot that is moderately threatening (claw hands) and extremely useful (doubles as a pencil sharpener). Pretty neat!

Click here for pencil sharpening robot goodness.

Robot-A-Day (RAD)

Okay, my friend B.T. is a funny dude. His website at www.radrobot.org has me cracking up today.

Laser apes, indeed.

Corey Flintoff and why Americans fear robots

Corey sat in for Kojo on the Washington DC-based "Kojo Nnamdi" Show on 88.5 WAMU. The producers demanded that I speak from a land line, which I don't have, so I had to barge into my neighbor's apartment and steal their phone for an hour. Thanks, Trina. Anyway, my pal Timothy Hornyak was the main event on the show -- he has written a book called Loving the Machine that goes into why the Japanese ain't scared of robots. It's a fascinating book (and radio interview). But then, I'm a geek.

Check out the radio show here.

Popular Science

I'm a columnist for Popular Mechanics and I'm sort of convinced that I must be arch-enemies with Popular Science. Nonetheless, when PopSci writer Annalee Newitz gave me a call to talk about fembots (i.e., sexy female robots, woo!), I felt obligated to answer for the good of humankind.

Read the Popular Science article here.

Air America

I had a tidy interview with Air America today. It was fun.

"The book is about learning, sure, but it's also all about saving babies and kitties from robots."

Go on and give it a listen.

The Popular Mechanics Show

My man Ben Chertoff (an editor at PM), Glenn Derene (senior technology editor at PM), and I (a rake and a roustabout) had a chat about the future of television, electric cars, and robots on the battlefield. In-teresting stuff!

Give it a listen.

washington post online chat extravaganza

Concerned readers of the Washington Post once again had their way with me on topics ranging from sex with robots, to envisioned robot battles, to whether or not our metal friends can love.

Elkton, MD: What is the probability there will be a human savior who is the robot slayer?

Daniel H. Wilson: Of course there will be a human savior to save us from the robots. It will go something like this: A washed up alcoholic trucker who just wants to get his kid back will reluctantly take on the robots and ultimately win both the respect of his son and the robot truck of his dreams.

Check out the full transcript of my washington post interview.

Robot Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Today I returned to my alma mater -- Carnegie Mellon University -- and delivered a short keynote address during the Robot Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The event inducted David (from the movie A.I.), the Sony AIBO, Gort (from The Day the Earth Stood Still), the SCARA robot arm, and Maria (from Metropolis). It was nerd heaven. The Master of Ceremonies was none other than Anthony Daniels -- the guy who played C-3PO in every Star Wars movie. Needless to say, I had a very good time.

Here's a bit of my speech:

"Robots have always been a combination of fact and fiction. The fictional robots in movies inspire us to build real robots. And those real robots go on to inspire Hollywood producers to pay Arnold Schwarzenegger $30 million dollars to get naked in yet another Terminator movie. It's a beautiful symbiosis of imagination and technical skill."

Countdown... with Keith Olbermann

I was interviewed by Keith on Countdown tonight. He wanted to know about the ethics of having sex with robots. It was on MSNBC's mind because of this article in the Times. I had a good time, but some of the things I said are making me cringe now *just a little bit*:

"WILSON: We'll be having sex with robots long before they're actually conscious of it."

Yikes!

Doomsday Scenarios on SciFi Channel

I'll be on a SciFi Channel TV show Wednesday, June 14th at 9pm EST.

The program is called "Doomsday" and it covers ten different doomsday scenarios. Guess which scenario I talk about? Oh yeah -- what if ROBOTS RUN AMUCK AND KILL ALL HUMANS? Not very likely, but preparation is key to survival...

Here is some text taken from www.scifi.com

"Countdown to Doomsday provides a chilling look at the scenarios threatening to induce our planet's next mass extinction, and also how these catastrophes can be averted. Hosted by Matt Lauer, Countdown to Doomsday uses top of the line special effects to illustrate the knowledge and imagination of the world's leading scientists, viewers will experience the magnitude of each catastrophe as SCI FI brings the 10 shocking scenarios to life. In addition to the heart pounding "what ifs," potential solutions will also be explored. Shot around the globe, Countdown will reveal the potential consequences of ominous terrestrial threats like global warming, asteroid collisions and pandemic outbreaks. Countdown to Doomsday will premiere on Wednesday, June 14 from 9-11 PM."